Superman
Appearance ---- He is distinctive and iconic. He usually wears a blue costume, red cape, and stylized red-and-yellow "S" shield on his chest. This shield is used in a myriad of media to symbolize the character. History He is also known as the Man of Steel, is one of the most powerful superheroes in the DC Universe. His abilities include incredible super-strength, super-speed, invulnerability, freezing breath, flight, and heat-vision. Born as Kal-El on the dying planet Krypton, his parents Jor-El and Lara sent him in a rocket to the planet Earth where he would be the last surviving member of his race. His rocket was discovered by the kindly Jonathan and Martha Kent, who raised him as their son Clark Kent in the town of Smallville, Kansas. His upbringing provided him with strong moral values, and life-long friends Lana Lang and Pete Ross. In his secret identity he works as a reporter at the Daily Planet in the city of Metropolis. This is where he interacts with his love interest Lois Lane, and his co-workers Perry White and Jimmy Olsen. His greatest nemesis is the brilliant super-villain Lex Luthor. To preserve the memory of his home planet and provide him rest from his double-life and adventures, he maintains a Fortress of Solitude at the North Pole. Superman remains proud of his dual heritage, taking seriously the lessons of his birth-parents and his adopted parents. Although he is an alien to this world, he heavily values his humanity, and fights with conviction for truth, justice, and the American way. There are several other heroes inspired by or directly related to his legacy, including Superboy and Supergirl. He is also a member of the Justice League of America and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Early Life The infant Kal-El was sent to Earth by his parents, Jor-El and Lara, prior to the destruction of their home planet, Krypton. Kal-El's capsule landed near Smallville, Kansas, where he was found by Jonathan and Martha Kent and subsequently took a liking to both of them. The Kents adopted the young Kryptonian, naming him "Clark", after Martha's maiden name. Clark began to discover his powers while growing up in Smallville, and was sometimes frustrated by his need to hide them from the public. His parents revealed to him the spaceship, as well as a hologram, that arrived with him when he first came to Earth. Clark was told of the destruction of his planet and briefly met his real mother and father. When Clark encountered Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Chameleon Boy from the future superhero team, the Legion of Super-Heroes, he did not use his powers very much. During this incident, he aided the trio in stopping Brainiac (from the 30th century) from destroying the Legion of Super-Heroes by killing Clark before he could become Superman. However, after Clark said his goodbyes to the team, Saturn Girl removed all memory of the events of that period from his mind. Nevertheless, this incident depicted all the strength and courage Clark would imbue as Superman. As an adult, Clark moved to Metropolis and found employment as a reporter for the Daily Planet. In keeping with his civilian identity of Clark Kent, Superman maintained a high rise apartment and automobile of his own. Additionally, Clark Kent often ate even though Superman received his sustenance from the yellow sun, and did not require food. Even beyond eating for the sake of appearances, as he has done so his entire life with his friends and family, he had become accustomed to food and drink, and even occasionally enjoyed them in private, especially pizza and root beer floats. Hero Of Metropolis Regarding the dual nature of his identity, Superman explained that he needed to be Clark to keep him sane, and his adoptive father Pa Kent reinforced that "Superman just helps out now and then". Even during the peak of his notoriety as Superman while serving as the face of the Justice League, his deepest fantasy is shown to be living the life of a farmer with a wife and son. In his fantasy, he never dons the Superman identity and doesn't even possess any of his superpowers. An early appearance in costume, saving a young girl, attracted the attention of Lois Lane — as the story replaced one of her own. It was Lois who subsequently gave Clark's costumed persona the name "Superman". Superman gave Lois an exclusive interview, his motivation being to alleviate public fears by ensuring that people knew where he came from and why he was here — or, as his adoptive mother put it, so that people wouldn't think he was like "that nut from Gotham City". Shortly after his arrival in Metropolis, Superman met Lex Luthor, who would become one of his greatest and most persistent adversaries, and defeated terrorist John Corben. In the following months, a variety of costumed criminals — some with metahuman abilities — began to appear in Metropolis to oppose the Man of Steel. A by-no-means complete list would include the Toyman, the Parasite, Livewire, Metallo, Bizarro, Volcana, and Luminus. Superman would also encounter various beings who, like himself, hailed from other worlds, such as the renowned bounty hunter Lobo and the warrior queen Maxima, or even other dimensions, like the mischievous imp Mxyzptlk. He would even meet a few fellow survivors of Krypton: the Phantom Zone-exiled Jax-Ur and Mala, and — most chillingly — the artificial intelligence known as Brainiac. Even as his roster of enemies continued to swell, Superman would also encounter many individuals whom he would come to consider staunch allies: the Flash, Batman, Dr. Fate, Steel, Aquaman, Robin, and the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner. He also discovered, on Krypton's sister world Argo, a young woman who would become not only a loyal ally but also a new (if adoptive) family member: Supergirl. In time, Superman would also come into periodic contact with beings from the planet Apokolips, the realm of the malevolent entity who would become another of the Man of Tomorrow's most dangerous opponents: Darkseid. It was the diabolical Lord of Apokolips who would deal Superman many of his most humbling defeats; these included killing Superman's friend Dan Turpin, and brainwashing the Man of Steel and manipulating him into leading an assault on Earth. Although Superman recovered himself and defeated Darkseid, the immense damage to his reputation with Earth's populace was harder to repair. It would be some time before Superman could regain the people's trust entirely. In spite of this, he would continue his never-ending battle for truth and justice, although he would soon find that he would not need to continue it alone.